


I've been wasting my time, in all the wrong places, on all the wrong faces

by b_j_hx



Category: Canada's Drag Race RPF, RuPaul's Drag Race (US) RPF
Genre: F/F, Lesbian AU, Mutual Pining, Nudes, Useless Lesbians, lemon 'accidentally' sends Priyanka a nude, smutty ish not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 09:08:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29487276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/b_j_hx/pseuds/b_j_hx
Summary: Not quite knowing what to do with herself, or how to react, Priyanka gently set her phone down on the coffee table like it might explode, and tried to form a rational thought.That photo wasn't meant for me, was the obvious one.Oh my god, Lemon’s secretly in love with me, was not.Lemon not so accidentally texts Priyanka a nude on Valentine's Day.
Relationships: Lemon/Priyanka (Drag Race)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 38





	I've been wasting my time, in all the wrong places, on all the wrong faces

‘You know Mike is pissed you stayed in Toronto for Valentine’s Day.’

Izzy’s accusation came through the speaker of Lemon’s phone, which was haphazardly propped against a roll of toilet paper while the blonde was changing. Izzy, on the other end of the FaceTime, was picking her acrylic nails and averting her eyes as her friend shimmied on a red lingerie set that left little to the imagination.

‘He might forgive you for _that_.’

‘Well, I had to stay in Toronto, so he's going to have to.’ Lemon huffed, fluffing her blonde hair and letting it hang loose down her back. ‘Should I send him a video, or will he mind just pics.’

‘Why is sending your literal boyfriend a pick me up on Valentine’s day such a chore, Lilah?’

‘Ew, don’t use my real name. I get it, you’re mad.’

‘Yeah, mad you’re not _here_. It’s not just Mike that misses you.’ Izzy huffed. ‘Why did you have to stay in Toronto again?’

‘Uh, my parents just wanted me to hang on a bit longer, that’s all.’ Lemon tried to avoid the question as much as possible, knowing the _real_ reason was not something Izzy would understand. Izzy, who set her up with Mike, despite her protestations that she didn't want or need a boyfriend, Izzy who insisted they could go on double dates, Izzy who wanted nothing but the best for her.

‘Did you not remind them it’s like _literal_ Valentine’s Day and you have a boyfriend you haven't seen in two weeks?’

‘I know, I know.’

‘You don't sound _that_ mad that you're not with him.’

_Maybe Izzy will wake up and sense she’s literally avoiding the big dork._

Suddenly the noise that signalled another incoming call flashed on Lemon’s phone screen, Mike’s contact details peeking over the top of Izzy’s head.

‘Got to go, Iz.’

Two hours later, after an intense conversation and phone sex she really wasn't in the mood for, mostly because sex with Mike had become a chore and he never knew how to make her feel wanted, Lemon had flopped onto her childhood bed still in nothing but the red bra and panties, hoping her mom didn't burst in unnanounced, in the way she had become accustomed to doing since Lemon had been back home in Canada.

_Back home in Canada._

God, she’d wanted nothing more than to leave this place two years ago, setting her sights high on the New York dance school and the New York lifestyle. Not for one minute realising how hard it would be to leave her hometown behind. To leave _her_ behind.

Smiling sadly, she leaned back on her pillows, all thoughts of Mike banished from her mind, instead replaced by images of her last night back home before moving away, in her childhood bedroom, which was more or less an empty shell, everything packed away into the suitcases at the foot of the stairs ready for her big move, and the tears that had dried long ago on her cheeks as she gently ran her fingernails up and down Priyanka’s bare back.

Priyanka. Her best friend. The hardest person to leave behind.

That last night, curled up in Lemon’s comfy bed she already knew she'd miss so much, too much was left unsaid between the blonde and brunette. The same bed where secrets had been whispered to each other under the pale yellow duvet, tears had been dried from heartbreak and high school boys and laughing too hard. The same place where Lemon had sat, day after day, staring too intently at Priyanka’s lips, running her tongue along her own sticky lipglossed pout, tasting sweetness.

They had been inseperable.

Lemon knew she should probably look her up, give her a message and let her know she was back in Toronto. Wasn't that the whole reason she hadn't gone back to New York yet? It’s not like they’d lost touch completely. They still liked each others Instagram photos and Lemon kept tabs on all the unfortunate girls who’d dared to try and be good enough for her Prinky.

_Fuck._

She remembered a night out, not long before she'd gotten the acceptance letter to study dance in New York, the girls from high school all getting ready in her bedroom. _Kiki, Juice, Bobo,_ what were they all up to now?

Her bedroom had, predictably, become a state of chaos, and she remembered trying to reason with the prissy part of her brain that wanted to herd all six of her friends out so she could restore some order. Saweetie was blaring from her laptop speaker, despite the protests of at least two of the other girls, who had been overruled by her logic of _my room, my rules, bitch._ She had felt _good._ She rememberedJuice’s pointy elbow nudging her out of the way of the mirror, the petite girl who had been Lemon’s first friend adjusting her hair into two high pigtails. Lemon had rolled her eyes, a gesture that came very naturally to her, and from behind her in the mirror she caught the eye of Priyanka sitting on the edge of her bed. Priyanka gave her a toothy grin, and Lemon couldn't help it - she grinned back just as hard.

_And then she made the most embarrassing toast known to man._

Deciding she wouldn’t - _couldn't_ let herself fall for someone she most definitely couldn't have, because said person had no feelings for her whatsoever - despite their not so casual ‘friendship’ - if you could call it that, Lemon had unscrewed the top of a bottle of wine that was sat on her dresser and took a long swig. Then she took a deep breath and turned to the birthday girl.

‘This is for my girl - to Priiiiiinky!’ She slurred slightly, the copious amounts she’d already been drinking whilst doing her makeup and picking an outfit catching up to her. She'd always called Pri that, and no one else was allowed to.

‘I’m so happy, to be here with you - and I'm so happy for you and Tasha...’ She began to trail off, as Priyanka let out a signature Pri laugh - all loud honking and wheezing.

‘Lemondra, she's not my girlfriend _yet_!’

‘Doesn’t mean you can’t have _birthday sex_.’ Bobo had laughed, wriggling into a pair of tight fitting denim hot pants.

All the girls had laughed, except for Lemon who just rolled her eyes again. She remembered hating that feeling, the bits between, when Priyanka had a girl she was all heart eyes for and Lemon had to try and fake an interest, just so they could still spend all their time together. No, Lemon liked the heartbreak, the inevitable moment when said girl screwed up like they all did, and she got her Prinky back.

Maybe it had been wrong for her to think like that. But all was said and done now.

Her thoughts interrupted by the _ping_ of a text notification, she groaned to see it was just Mike. She really needed to break up with him, as soon as she got back to New York. Screw Izzy, sorry. She couldn't do this any more.

_Shit, she promised him photos._

Well, she could at least give the poor guy something to miss when she was gone.

Lemon eyed the Polaroid camera in the corner of her room, debating just posting him one with a note attached saying _we’re done,_ signed with a kiss made out of lipgloss. She giggled to herself, knowing a move like that was the kind of thing people _would_ expect of her.

But she wasn't that mean.

Half an hour later, certain she was happy with the underwear shots, she picked her favourite one, kneeling on the bed with her legs spread slightly, blonde hair thrown over one shoulder and a sweet smile.

On a high from feeling confident, Lemon typed in an _M_ to the search bar upon clicking the option to message the photo. There was Mike, no emoji adorning his contact name, like she’d done for so many of her friends. He just wasn't special enough. _Shit, better not accidentally send it to Mom,_ was her next thought. And then she noticed the contact below.

_My Pri xxxx_

She’d never had the heart to change it, remembering vividly the day Priyanka had stolen her phone and held it high above her head, taunting Lemon with their height difference, adamant she deserved more than an ugly mugshot as a contact photo. She’d changed the photo and then changed her name, and Lemon hadn’t touched it, not since that day, not through her first two years of dance school, not even when she got reminded of it very occasionally, like now.

She smiled sadly to herself, selecting Mike’s contact and shooting off the photo with a _happy valentines!!!_

She didn't even care about his response.

That’s when the crazy thought entered her mind.

Of sending the photo to Priyanka.

She could act like it was a massive accident, a mistake, and it would get them speaking again. She missed her best friend, and Pri had seen her in her underwear hundreds of times, and Lemon wasn't embarrassed by the thought of her seeing it now. She _knew_ Pri didn’t have a girlfriend, because the girl put her entire life into tweets.

Before she could chicken out, or at least talk some rational sense into herself in the form of _you can't just send your old best friend that, no matter how close you were, it’s weird,_ she did it.

Then she had to quickly throw on some sweatpants and a top and leave her room, phone on her duvet, almost tripping over her dog Gus in the hall, because she was too scared to look at it.

*

Across town, sprawled on her sofa in a blue Roots tracksuit watching reruns of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Priyanka sighed irritably as the takeaway she was consuming missed her mouth and splattered the front of her hoodie in sauce. At the same time she was grabbing a cloth, her phone pinged with a notification, and she was about ready to hurl the thing out the window without even checking it, certain it was her ex.

‘ _You fucker_.’ She whispered, attacking the stain on her hoodie with one hand, attempting to unlock her phone with the other.

_Wait, Lemondra?_

Needless to say it had been a while since she'd seen that contact name pop up. She couldn’t deny how much she missed her, but Lemon had chosen to move to New York for dance, and Pri couldn't hold that against her. Sure, it had been hard at first, adjusting to going from seeing someone every single day, having sleepovers almost every school night, to sudden nothingness, but she was OK. It hurt seeing Lemon on Instagram, laughing and smiling with less pretty, just as fashion obsessed versions of the blonde herself, her new friends. Or that big hunk of a guy who looked like he had one braincell, the one who Priyanka had stalked after he uploaded a photo of Lemon, who seemed to be her boyfriend. Deep down, even after two years of barely any contact, Pri knew Lemon would never be happy with someone like that.

She didn't regret never telling Lemon about her feelings, it was never the right time, and all signs always pointed to her best friend being straight. There was one time, right after Pri came out, where the girls had gone on a night out and Lemon was a lot more clingy than usual, and the two had kissed, mostly Priyanka's doing, but Lemon hadn't held back.

Before she even had a chance to wonder what Lemon wanted, she opened the message, and her eyes widened.

_What. The. Fuck._

Not quite knowing what to do with herself, or how to react, Priyanka gently set her phone down on the coffee table like it might explode, and tried to form a rational thought.

 _That photo wasn't meant for me,_ was the obvious one.

 _Oh my god, Lemon’s secretly in love with me,_ was not.

It was a good two minutes before she picked up her phone again. Now, she was examining the picture in detail, the curve of Lemon’s hips and the lace of her bra. The way her hair was thrown over one shoulder, making Priyanka want to reach through the phone and kiss her exposed neck.

_Think rationally, Pri._

It felt like an invasion of Lemon’s privacy because Pri was never allowed to think about her like that, because she knew it would never be reciprocated. She’d get herself hurt.

But now? Lemon had invited her to see her in an intimate way, and Pri was revelling in it.

She didn't know what to respond. The obvious response was that she didn't think the picture was for her. _But what if it was?_ Pri recognised the bed as Lemon’s childhood one. She was home in Toronto, and this could be her way of asking to see her. Right?

_But why would she do it like that? Is she really in to me?_

‘ _Wow_ ’ seemed like overkill, even though it was the foremost thought in her mind.

In the end, she settled for humour, opting for ‘ _I don't hear from you for months and THIS is what you send me?! Jesus Lemondra._ ’

Too nervous to finish her food, she waited for a reply.

*

Lemon plucked up the courage to venture back into her bedroom about twenty minutes later, after trying to distract herself with a conversation with her mom about her walk with Gus that morning, Picking up her phone like it was a hot potato, she flipped it over and unlocked it, noticing she had two new message notifications. She completely bypassed Mike’s response, which included a lot of heart-eye emojis and eggplants, and not much lamenting on how beautiful she was, and clicked on the second message, from Priyanka.

_I don't hear from you for months and THIS is what you send me?! Jesus Lemondra._

The _Pri-ness_ of it, the way Lemon could practically hear her say those words, the way she’d laugh and squeal, made her smile widely. It was like having her best friend back in the room with her. Lemon realised, all too suddenly, that she'd enjoyed waiting for Pri’s response far more than Mike’s. She _wanted_ Pri to react to her, like that.

_I've got more where that came from doll._

She sent off the reply, giggling like a schoolgirl, giddy with excitement and practically bouncing on her bed, eyes glued to her phone. It’s like time had never passed, and distance had never become an issue, the way her and Priyanka were falling back into their easy friendship.

_You’re a tease, Lemondra._

Lemon smiled, not sure where to take the conversation next.

_But you’re beautiful._

Priyanka’s sudden sincerity in her second message knocked her for six, knowing it was not only off brand for the brunette, but for their friendship. Anything serious was always followed by a joke, or a tease, and this moment didn't feel like that.

_So are you. Happy valentines day. I hope you’re OK Pri. I miss you._

It felt good to get it all out, finally.

_Happy valentines day Lemmy. I miss you too. How is New York? I’m ok, just single as fuck_

The conversation continued, both girls catching up on lost time, until Priyanka swung it back to the reason they’d started talking to begin with.

_Lem, be honest, why the photo? It’s not like I mind, but was it an accident?_

Lemon was stuck - truth was, she didn't 100% know herself. It was everything - feeling under appreciated, missing her best friend, missing the one person who always made her feel happy, and maybe, just maybe, deep-rooted feelings that she'd tucked away years ago. The reason why she hated all of Pri’s exes more than Pri herself.

Swallowing her pride, Lemon dialled Priyanka's number. This was something she couldn’t put into a text.

*

Pri jumped at the sound of her phone ringing, pulling her from her thoughts of Lemon.

‘Lem?’ She asked, knowing full well that it was her, but still.

‘Hey.’ Lemon said softly, and Priyanka could imagine her beautiful smile, even through the phone.

‘Lem, I-’ Pri began to speak, but was cut off swiftly by the blonde.

‘No, look, I just need to say this before I can't, Pri, I'm sorry about the photo but it wasn't a mistake, I guess I just wanted your attention again, I missed it, I missed you, too much. And my shitty boyfriend just made me think today, about how I don't love him. About how i’m hiding so much from everyone. The reason I’m still in Toronto on Valentine’s day and not back in New York is because I've been trying to pluck up the courage to get back in touch with _you_.’

Priyanka, for the first time since Lemon had known her, was silent.

‘I guess I just realised there might be something - that there might have always been something to us.’

Priyanka stayed silent, and the dread in Lemon’s chest began to grow.

‘Pri, say something.’

The shriek that came through the phone almost burst Lemon’s eardrums.

‘LEMONDRA YOU’VE GOT FEEEEELINGS FOR ME!!! YOU WANT SOME PRIIIIYANKA?’

Really, she shouldn't have expected anything else.

‘You know you're the most beautiful girl in the world, right? Your smile is so perfect. Really, I just wanna lick your face a little bit. My exes were just never you, and that was the problem. Your photo made my pussy tingle, Lem.’

It was everything no one else would ever say to her, and everything she’d ever wanted to hear.

‘You’re stupid.’ Lemon laughed.

‘You want me.’

‘Send me a photo back.’ Lemon asked, a hint of want in her voice.

‘Are you _joking,_ I'm covered in curry sauce and wearing my literal worst underwear.’

‘You’re still the most beautiful Prinky.’

‘Fine, fine, you can have some Priyanka.’

‘No really, can I come over?’ Lemon asked, realising she was twirling a strand of hair around her finger like a schoolgirl on the phone to her crush.

‘Yeah, like now please.’ Priyanka answered, and Lemon could hear a rustling in the background, heavy breathing through the phone.

‘What are you doing?’ Lemon asked, knowing with Pri, it could be literally anything. Probably tidying up her messy apartment.

‘I’m texting you a photo of my tits, duh.’

'I wouldn't expect any less.' 

'Are we really doing this Lemondra?'

'I guess we are.' 


End file.
